Comar Beulens
Since a young age, I’ve been intrigued by the built environment and everything around me, I am fascinated by how people keep interacting with buildings. Urban Studies at Leiden University discuss so much more than just buildings, ranging from the social interactions with the environment, from economics to health-related issues, ecological issues, and cultural phenomena that take place in cities. It is exactly what intrigued me as a young child living in different cities from all over the whole world.
To be honest, in the beginning, there was a lot of new information because the year I went to the introductory activities, was the first year running. It was a tricky decision, but I’m so happy that I made the right one and to follow this programme. Everything that was introduced and discussed during introductory events came to flourish in my eyes; in my opinion, it is a great programme.
Urban Studies is linked to a lot of different areas, there is a high level of interdisciplinarity. In the beginning, I found it complex, but throughout the year you can see that all these pieces do seem to fit together: every course, lecture, or workgroup is linked to each other in one way or another. Whether that is professors that work together or the authors of papers you read, they come back in multiple courses across different disciplines: from health to ecology.
My interests within Urban studies developed throughout the year, before studying this programme my interests were chiefly multiculturalism, social engagement, and public affairs, while pursuing this programme my focus shifted to public health. Every time I set any expectations from what I wish to learn just before a course starts, everything is clearly outlined resulting in the fact that my expectations always align with reality.
All courses are given very well in my opinion, it is very academic. You learn about theory a lot, but through group projects, you implement everything you learn. Urban Studies is so complex, but when you engage with everything you learn about, it becomes so much clearer. Then leaving your house into the city, you generally see the world and you can’t unsee what you learned. My favorite course was Determinants of Human Behavior, it is so interesting to dive into theory about what this agglomeration of massive buildings does to our minds and what effects it has on our short-term and long-term health. I can say that this course ignited a fire in me to learn more about urban health.
Professors can give examples of so many different things in different domains. It is quite impressive to listen to. All the academic staff is very proactive, I email them whenever I need help with anything, and everyone is so quick to reply.
The nice thing about Urban studies is that it is a very small programme, which makes for a very tight-knit community where everyone knows each other. We study a lot together, but besides that, we also do a lot of non-study activities together: quizzes, parties, speed dating, and often collaborations with students from other study associations.
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